Texas Coastal Habitats
Scenes from the video:
Ann Miller and Bryan Adams, USFWS specialist, talk about
the nature of the gulf coast. Do you know what's on the bottom of the gulf?
Listen and find out!
Windows Media |
Real Media
(This video clip continues on the "Texas Mid-Coast National Wildlife Refuges" page.)
Texas bays and Gulf waters are home to thousands of fish, shellfish, birds and other animals, all of which depend on the coast's diverse habitats for food and shelter. Humans, too, share the coast, building homes and ports, harvesting seafood and enjoying the many kinds of recreation the coast has to offer.
The Gulf Coast is a nearly level slowly drained plain, dissected by streams
and rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. The region includes barrier
islands along the coast, salt grass marshes surrounding bays and estuaries,
remnant tallgrass prairies, oak parklands and oak mottes scattered along
the coast, and tall woodlands in the river bottomlands. Soils are acidic
sands and sandy loams, with clays occurring primarily in the river bottoms.
The upper Texas coast has rich woods and swamps. True swamps are found
mostly in East Texas, from Houston east to the Sabine River.
Traveling south from the upper toward the mid-coast is the popular Galveston
Bay, near Houston.
Corpus Bay is the mid coast region has bays and estuaries that support
many fish. This is a very popular area to see birds and to fish from jetties.
South Texas has seagrasses in Aransas Bay.
Along the mid and south coast, Mustang Island and Padre Island parks are
known for wonderful beaches and seashells.
Texas coastal parks are also known for their beautiful skies.
(This video clip continues on the "Texas Mid-Coast National Wildlife Refuges" page.)
